Welcome to Wonderland

Girl Hearts Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe

Review: I absolutely adored the opening to Girl Hearts Girl and immediately connected the Lucy as she is an avid bookworm like myself and was bullied for it as the other children in her school didn’t understand the elation at finding a new world or character to explore in the written world. This book is very short and I loved all the literary references especially to Harry Potter there is even a chapter named after Hermione Granger. Lucy has a confidence I never had in my pre-teen years she accepts that other kids may see her as strange and weird but just chooses to get on her with her life using Hermione as her role while me I was always changing myself in order to make new friends especially when I started secondary school.

Lucy has a feeling from a very young age that she is more attracted to girls than boys. I feel this book is very real and honest, even focusing on topics like anxiety and body image for young girls. Lucy becomes extremely self-conscious especially when she has her first crush on a girl. Her internal struggle to come to grips with the fact she could be gay is heart-breaking and cringe-worthy all at the same time. I love how she talks about her teen angst and how pressured she felt to conform to a label it was inspiring to follow her mental journey. The writing style of this book is so easy to follow and you just fly through the pages. I loved Lucy’s’ narrative as she is brutally honest with her struggles and her joys. I related so much to this novel as many girls will as most of us will have received similar treatment or had similar experiences which it more of a form of personal reflection than a novel.

Lucy begins to find her confidence in amateur dramatics surrounded by her friends but she is still harbouring her fears about being gay or bisexual and at 16/17 she still hasn’t had a proper relationship and feels slightly isolated from everyone else in her life. I like watching her confidence grows and become more herself than she has been so far in the book. Lucy has to deal with several different boys having a crush on her even one of her best friends but she just isn’t interested in them. I totally sympathize with her although at times I felt she was extremely naive and just needed to tell her family and friend she was gay and all the drama surrounding these boys would go away. I loved the relationship between Lucy and Rachel as they deal with similar boy problems.

Lucy witnesses one of her friends coming out and is completely astounding by his bravery she also looked up to openly gay celebrities and for the first time in 17 years she comes to terms with the fact she is gay and she’s it aloud albeit to herself, and she is well on her way to coming out and I feel so proud of her despite not knowing her. As for is focusing on her A-Levels Lucy is becoming more Lucy and stops contemplating whether she is this or that and just accepts she is who she is. By completely chance Lucy meets Kaelyn on the internet who has the same problems with coming out as she does and the two become fast friends and help each other accept and learn that being gay isn’t who they are but only a small part. Very quickly Lucy realizes she is falling for this girl and for the first time it doesn’t frighten her. Lucy finally comes out to her friends and has an amazing reception but I feel some hard time will be upon her soon. Lucy and Kaelyn seems an amazing match and push each other to be better and to do better in every aspect of their lives. They both harbor the same guilty feels about not being openly gay and having to keep each other a secret from the important people in the lives with I empathize with so much.

In the break between sixth form and university Lucy travels to America making a stop at the university where Kaelyn is studying only to fall more and more in love with each other. As they depart Lucy feels like her heart is breaking as she doesn’t know the next time she will be able to hold or kiss Kaelyn again. At this point she still hasn’t come out to her parents but swear she will do it after she leaves for university. Kaelyn comes out to her parents and plays a massive part in helping Lucy do the same. Lucy faces some trials at university including some very persistent guys who won’t take no for an answer. But she does become a lot more proud in herself and her sexuality and isn’t afraid to tell people about Kaelyn. Despite being miles apart Kaelyn and Lucy relationship grows every stronger as they bounce off each other providing the parts of each other they feel is missing or needs helps to pronounce itself.

The final fifty pages of this novel were astounding. Lucy and Kaelyn become figureheads on the internet for LGBT couples/people all over the world and make a community and support network for anyone and everyone. They also take the plunge and Lucy moves to America to be with Kaelyn after university and they are the happiest they have ever been. This book is such a quick read and it made me laugh until my sides hurt and ugly cry over and over so much so I couldn’t contain my feels. Lucy Sutcliffe is an amazing honest and wonderful writer and I hope these is so much more to come from her. I have a feeling Sutcliffe is going to be a new insta-buy author. I have read it and loved it and I urge everyone to do the same.